SEATTLE, WA — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announces that the Biden Administration will invest nearly $1 billion in American infrastructure through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grants program. The funding has been awarded to 90 projects in 47 states and the District of Columbia and Guam.

“We’re proud to support these great projects that will improve infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, make us safer, advance equity, and combat climate change,” Buttigieg said. “As in past years, we received far more applications than we could fund; this cycle saw about a ten-to-one ratio of requests to available dollars. But going forward, with the passage of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we will be able to support far more infrastructure projects to support jobs and everyday life in communities across the country."

The program selection criteria encompassed safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation, and partnerships with a range of stakeholders. Within these criteria, the grants reflect the department’s priorities for creating good-paying jobs, improving safety, applying technology, and addressing climate change and advancing racial equity.

Listed below is an example of FY21 in the Pacific Builder & Engineer area:

The City of Seattle will receive $20 million to reconstruct a 1.1-mile segment of the East Marginal Way roadway and upgrade the route to Heavy Haul Network standards to help reduce supply chain bottlenecks and improve operations along the freight route. The project also will add adaptive traffic signals using Split Cycle Offset Optimization Technique technology to enhance safety and improve traffic flow at several of the City’s busiest freight intersections.

This project will improve safety for cyclists by creating an improved, fully protected, separated bike lane, and protected intersection crossings along the corridor. Adaptive signals will be installed to help reduce traffic crashes. The new pavement will be constructed to higher standards to ensure the road can support the heavy freight traffic and the pavement will extend the project’s useful life to 50 years.